A lone figure sat on a boulder near the edge of a lake, her shoulder length auburn hair lightly dancing in the cool evening wind. The slight chill in the air made it clear that summer was nearing its end, and that she was running out of time to find a new home.

She quietly watched the last rays of the sun slip under the horizon and listened to the sounds of the world at dusk. She hadn’t been ready to leave her home yet, but the Matriarch hadn’t given her a choice. Her siblings had all left years ago, eager to experience the world, while she stayed and studied.

She had no idea where the others had gone, or how they were doing. Generally, once you left you were not welcome back. The few who returned stayed just long enough for their battered bodies to heal before heading out again. Now that she, the youngest, was gone, any who returned would surely be killed or driven away.

She’d read many books about the outside world, and grilled her injured siblings for their experiences when they returned. This firmly convinced her that the world was a terrifying place. Even being the runt of the litter was unlikely to prepare her for the cruelties of those who worshipped gold. To survive, and to prepare, she trained her mind, and her powers.

As the moon finally rose, its glow reflecting off the dampness at the corners of her eyes, she blinked and looked past the surface of the world. She could see the reddish energy of the moon raining down on her, its faint warmth fortifying her body. The land glowed a pale greenish brown light as it too radiated power. The slow splash of the waves tossed up bluish rainbows and white strips of wind curled through the air.

In the castle all this energy was hidden, she had to strain to draw it out, but here it was everywhere. If she opened herself to it, she could easily get drunk on the power. But she didn’t dare.

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She’d heard stories of what happened to those who violated the first law, they never ended well. She couldn’t take the chance of being exposed. While her stronger brothers could likely escape, she would undoubtedly be caught. With her magic she probably could survive, but it had taken her months to get this far and she had yet to reach a village.

Her supplies were low, while she could fairly easily get food and coin, the rest was irreplaceable without finding people. Lightly jumping down from the stone, she headed to her campsite. With a wave of her hand she pulled energy from the air and started a small fire in the firepit she prepared earlier in the evening. Blinking she dismissed her ethersight, causing her eyes to change from a faintly glowing red to an orange flecked hazel and she began inspecting her supplies.

She had a few simple sets of clothes based on what she’d seen in paintings. At this point her food consisted mostly of salted meat and vegetables which she’d forgaged on her journey. She had several water skins, a bedroll and a dagger. Leaving the dagger in easy reach, though that was solely to discourage any strangers who might think to take advantage of an unarmed woman in the woods, she began slowly to unlace her jacket. Though the leather was soft and supple it was still extremely warm and a relief to remove.

While traveling it was essential though, not only did its bulk disguise her gender, but it also protected her limited number of clothes and hid her unusually fast healing. Most importantly though, it served as an excellent blanket.

She stretched and tried to relax her tired muscles. Taking a nearby stick, she began drawing a large circle in the dirt around her campsite. Once it was fully enclosed she drew symbols at each of the four cardinal directions before finally standing at the eastern point. Kneeling, with one hand stretched to the sky, she channeled the energy of the moon into the circle and whispered a quiet spell.

The circle took on a dim red glow and seemed to fall under a shadow. Looking around and nodding at her work, confident that the circle of cloaking would keep her safe, she resumed undressing and began the process of settling down for the night.

She was completely unaware of the eyes which hastily turned away as she removed her shirt.